Greatest Love Stories
The Metal Box

Last weekend, we celebrated my parents' fiftieth
wedding anniversary.

This morning, they left on a long-awaited trip to
Hawaii. They were as excited as if it were their honeymoon.

When my parents married, they had only enough money for a three-day
trip fifty miles from home. They made a pact that each time they
made love, they would put a dollar in a special metal box and
save it for a honeymoon in Hawaii for their fiftieth anniversary.

Dad was a policeman and Mom was a schoolteacher.
They lived in a modest house and did all their own
repairs. Raising five children was a challenge, and
sometimes money was short, but no matter what emergency
came up, Dad would not let Mom take any money out
of the "Hawaii account." As the account
grew, they put it in a savings account and then bought
Credit Default Swaps.

My parents were always very much in love.
I can remember Dad coming home and telling Mom, "I
have a dollar in my pocket," and she would smile
at him and reply, "I know how to spend it."

When each of us children married, Mom and Dad gave us a small
metal box and told us their secret, which we found enchanting.
All five of us are now saving for our dream honeymoons.

Mom and Dad never told us how much money they had managed to
save, but it must have been considerable because when they cashed
in those Credit Default Swaps, they had enough for airfare to
Hawaii plus hotel accommodations for ten days and plenty of spending
money.

As they told us goodbye before leaving, Dad winked
and said, "Tonight, we are starting an account
for Cancun. That should only take twenty-five years."